DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 

BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 



/ -Oip 



THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SCHOOL. 



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Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Education, 
Washington, August 12, 1881. 
The following article on the discipline of the school, by Hiram Orcutt, LL. D., was 
issued as a circular by this Office in 1871, in answer to earnest appeals from teachers. 
It has been for some time out of print ; its usefulness having been fully established 
and frequent calls being made for it, it is now reissued. 

JOHN EATON, 

Commissioner. 







WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1881. 



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THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SCHOOL. 



Schoolmaster, schoolmistress, or school teacher does not fully describe the person 
who educates our children. He is a school disciplinarian. In other words, a good dis- 
ciplinarian must be a good teacher; for correct teaching is one mode of discipline. 
Au«l for the same reason, a good teacher is a good disciplinarian. Nor can good disci- 
pline or instruction be found in the school that is not managed with ability and skill. 

DISCIPLINE IS EDUCATION*. 

Indeed, discipline is itself the great educational process. The well disciplined alone 
are well educated. Hence the great business of the teacher is to discipline his pupils. 
He cannot "add to their stature one cubit," nor to their mental or moral capacity one 
new power; but he can bring them under such a process of training as will subdue 
their wild and untamed impulses, develop the latent energies of body, mind, and soul, 
and direct them to a course of right action; so ^hat the future citizen and lawgiver 
n»ay be fitted for bis great work and high destiny. 

WHAT SCHOOL DISCIPLINE IS. 

The "discipline of the school" has reference to all the regulations and prohibitions 
and restraints and stimulants which are calculated to regulate the habits of study 
and deportment through the interesting and important period of school life. 

The object to be secured is twofold, viz, school vices must be prevented or cured 
and school virtues must be cultivated. Among school vices, as they have been classified, 
are idleness, whispering, disorderly movements in the school room, injury to property, 
and rudeness of speech or act in the intercourse of every day life. The school virtues 
to be cultivated are suggested as the opposites of these, viz, regularity of attendance^ 
promptness, obedience, truthfulness, earnestness, diligence, kindness, neatness, and 
thoroughness in the preparation aud recitation of lessons ; and these are to be secured, 
not only to promote the business of the school room, but also for their influence in 
forming habits and character. 

HOW SCHOOL DISCIPLINE IS TO BE APPLIED. 

Our attention may now be directed to the disciplinary agencies to be employed in 
the successful management, government, and instruction of a school. 

1. Thorough organization and classification.— I have seen the school in operation so 
perfectly systematized, all its arrangements so complete and its departments so per- 
fectly adjusted, that the workings of its machinery not only produced no friction, but 
created order, interest, and zeal, such as secured the desired object. I have seen these 
arrangements so perfect as not only to prevent general disorder but to punish wrong 
without the agency of the teacher. On the other hand, I have often witnessed the 
utter failure of apparently competent masters for the want of system in the arrange- 
ment and classification of their schools. 

ORGANIZATION* THE FIRST NECESSITY. 

Organization is the first business of the school room, and nothing else should be 
attempted until this is accomplished. The object in view is that systematic arrange 



ment and uniformity -which will secure good order and promote studiousness. To this 
end, the pupils should be so seated that they will appear uniform, and not disturb each 
other in the necessary movements of the day; the rogues should be separated, and 
every temptation to idleness and mischief removed. A complete division of time into 
periods for study, recitation, and play is also n ecessary. A time for disorder is, how- 
ever, just as necessary as a time for study; hence the teacher must provide, not only 
regular recesses for freedom in the open air, but also occasional recesses from study 
(say two minutes) for the purpose of opening the safety valve of mischief and giving 
opportunity to whisper, ask questions, leave seats, and attend to all other necessary 
irregularities not allowed at other times. In this way, the least excuse for indulgence 
during the quiet hours of study and recitation is removed. The teacher can now insist 
upon perfect order while order is the law. 



In the classification great pains should be taken to have as few classes as possible, 
and to have each pupil assigned to his appropriate sphere, where he will work easily 
and successfully, with his time fully occupied, and to have each class control its own 
specific time and place of recitation without change or interruption. 

In the government of the school, the regulations necessary to secure order and 
proper discipline must not only be fixed and uniform but fully made known to every 
pupil, that there may be concert of action and a harmonious working of all its mem- 
bers. 

Every teacher should, therefore, at the opening of his school, announce and explain 
the principles and facts upon which it is to be governed. These necessary school laws 
must be strict and promptly enforced. It is much easier and more merciful to govern 
perfectly than partially. A system of discipline, to gain the respect of the pupils and 
accomplish its object, must be inflexible, earnest, strong, thorough. The very fact of 
such a government has a silent but powerful influence in preventing evil and securing 
obedience and fidelity. 

THE TEACHER'S WILL SUPREME. 

2. All school laivs must be based upon authority. — This is the very germ and only foun- 
dation of good government. It must be distinctly understood that persuasion may 
never take the place of authority in school management. When, however, the right 
to maintain authority is not questioned by the pupil or after he has been subdued to 
obedience, we may persuade, invite, and win. But kindness cannot supply the place 
of authority. Obedience is not a voluntary compliance with a request, but a hearty 
response to acknowledged authority — an implicit yielding to a command. Such obedi- 
ence, prompt and unreserved, is the duty of every pupil. This is a government, not 
of persuasion, not of reasons assigned, not of the will of a majority, but of one master. 
From this decision there may be an appeal, but disobedience never. 

INSUBORDINATION TO AUTHORITY A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PRESENT DAY. 

The present is an age of insubordination, and can we doubt that this has resulted 
from the loss of authority in the family and school ? Parents and teachers have aban- 
doned the principles of government established by our fathers. They no longer enforce 
obedience, but attempt to purchase it by a promised reward. Money, sugar plums, 
or some other desired indulgence is offered, and given, as a condition of submission. 
Now, mark the effect of such discipline upon the child. Who conquers in this 
instance ? The pupil, and not the master. And he soon learns that disobedience is the 
best currency at his command to purchase the desired favor ; hence his stubbornness 
becomes more persistent, and his impudence more intolerable, as he desires the 
greater reward. Insubordination becomes a habit, and he soon loses all respect for 
authority and those who exercise it over him, and grows up in reckless disregard of the 
laws under which he lives. We have had fearful illustrations of this fact in the bis- 





tory of the family, school, and nation during the last few years. School law h:is its 
disciplinary power and influence while yet unbroken, and when no penalties appear. 
Indeed, the very object of school law is to prevent, and not to punish, evil. The 
necessity of punishment as often results from the absence of rigid authority as from any 
other cause. And I assume it as an axiom, that, so far as the conduct of the pupil can 
affect the welfare of the school, he should be subject, at all times and everywhere, to 
the control of the teacher. If he is to be master of the situation, his jurisdiction must 
not be confined to school hours, nor the school room, but must extend equally to all 
the days and weeks of the term and to every place where the pupil's influence may be 
felt for good or evil. 

INDUSTRY AN AID TO DISCIPLINE. 

3. Another important agency in school discipline is work. — Both the master and his 
pupils must work. Indolence in him begets idleness and recklessness in them. Life, 
energy, and industry manifested by him will be at once reproduced in them. The 
teacher must work to fit himself for his high calling and to elevate his profession. 
He must work for his school, to interest and benefit his patrons, to rouse and inspire 
his pupils, and to prepare himself for his daily teaching. Indeed, the true teacher is 
always reading, thinking, or acting for his school. He succeeds, also, in making his 
pupils work ; not so much, however, by direct effort, as through the influence of a 
well managed and well governed school. With children of common physical and 
mental ability, it is not often necessary to enforce industry. It is the teacher's busi- 
ness, rather, to direct and control this activity, in a systematic process of self culture 
and development. 

STUDIES SHOULD BE ADAPTED TO SCHOLARS. 

The studies pursued must be adapted to the capacity and standing of each scholar, 
not so difficult as to cause discouragement nor so easy as to allow idleness. His time 
must be fully occupied and his energies severely tasked. If his lessons could be 
learned without effort, his school life would so far be without profit : but, industrious 
and laborious, he not only needs no outward discipline, but is sure of improvement. 

PUBLIC OPINION A POWERFUL ALLY. 

4. Still another moulding and controlling power in the school room is public opinion. — This 
must be created and directed by the master, or he is powerless. And first of all he 
must create a favorable opinion of himself; that is, must gain the confidence of his 
patrons and pupils. To this end he must form an intimate acquaintance with both 
parents and pupils ; he must interest himself in what interests them, and adapt him- 
self to their varying tastes and peculiarities. Ou terms of friendship and in full sym- 
pathy with all, he is prepared to secure their cooperation, and thus carry out his plans 
and purposes for the welfare of his school. But the master will not secure the confi- 
dence of his pupils by an attempt to gratify all their wishes. The reckless are always 
the first to find fault with loose discipline. If he would be respected in his office, he 
will govern with sternness and vigor, and yet he must always act with kindness, mag- 
nanimity, and justice. 

Public opinion must also be employed to secure good order, control recklessness, sub- 
due rebellion, and crush out the evil tendency of bad habits. Whatever is right and 
proper and necessary to make a good school must be made popular. Whatever is 
wrong and of evil tendency must be made unpopular. This can be done, but the teacher 
must have skill, patience, and perseverance. 

QUINCY SCHOOL. 

When Superintendent Philbrick was master of the Quincy School, in Boston, he had 
charge of seven hundred pupils, gathered promiscuously from the district. The school 
building had been erected and occupied several years, and yet I was told by him that 



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not a mark of pencil or knife could be found upon the benches or walls of the building, 
or even upon the playground fence. I inquired how such a remarkable result had 
been secured . His reply was, ' ' By piling on motives " — by the power of public opinion. 

RECREATION ESSENTIAL TO DISCIPLINE. ' 

5. Mental and physical recreation are important disciplinary agencies. — The mind and 
body are inseparably connected. Hence mental culture cannot be successfully carried 
on without physical culture. Both mind and body must have recreation more than the 
ordinary recesses and holidays afford, and as every teacher knows there are certain 
hours and days when the fiend disorder seems to reign in the school room. He cannot 
assign any reason, but the very atmosphere is pregnant with anarchy and confusion. 
And what can the teacher do to overcome the evil? He may tighten his discipline, but 
that will not bind the volatile essence of confusion. He may ply the usual energies of 
his administration, but resistance is abnormal. He may flog, but every blow uncovers 
the needlepoints of fresh stings. He may protest and supplicate, scold and argue, 
inveigh and insist ; the demon is not exorcised, nor even hit, but is only distributed 
through fifty fretty and fidgety forms. He will encounter the mischief successfully 
only when he encounters it indirectly. Here applies the proposed remedy, mental and 
physical recreation. Let an unexpected change divert the attention of the pupils ; let 
some general theme be introduced in a familiar lecture or exciting narrative ; or, if 
nothing better is at hand, let all say the multiplication table or sing "Old Hundred," 
and the work is accomplished. "The room is ventilated of its restless contagion, and 
the furies are fled." Now add to this mental the physical recreation of school gym- 
nastics, and the remedy is still more sure. 

VALUE OF SCHOOL GYMNASTICS. 

Gymnastics are not only useful and important as a means of physical development, 
but also of school government. The exercise serves as a safety valve to let off the excess 
of animal spirits, which frequently brings the pupil in collision with his master. It 
relieves the school of that morbid insensibility and careless indifference which so often 
result from the monotony and burdened atmosphere of the school room. It sets up a 
standard of self government and forms the habit of subjection to authority, and as it 
is a regulator of the physical system, it becomes such to the conduct under law. The 
gymnastic resembles the military drill, and has the same general influence upon the 
pupil that the military has upon the soldier, to produce system, good order, and obe- 
dience. Gymnastics also create self reliance and available power. This is more 
important in life than brilliant talents or great learning. It is not the mere possession 
of physical power that gives ability, but the control of that power which this drill 
secures. And gymnastics preserve and restore health. 

It can be shown that the sanitary condition of schools and colleges has improved 
from 33 to 50 per cent, since the introduction of this systematic physical culture. 
Would we secure to future generations the realization of the old motto, " Mens sana in 
corpore sano," wemust restore to our schools of every grade systematic physical training. 
True gymnastics are calculated to correct awkardness of manner and to cultivate 
gracefulness of bearing. They give agility, strength, and ready control of the muscles, 
and thus tend to produce a natural and dignified carriage of the body and easy and 
graceful movements of the limbs. 

Again, the gymnastic drill awakens buoyancy of spirits and personal sympathy. 
Concert of action brings the class into personal contact, in a variety of ways, and tends 
not only to create mutual good will, but the greatest interest and enthusiasm. This 
promotes improved circulation, digestion, and respiration, and induces a feeling of 
cheerfulness and hopefulness that dispels despondency and every evil spirit. 

The gymnastic garb must leave the limbs free from restraint and the muscles and 
vital organs free from pressure. Hence, underthis treatment, the beautiful foim is 



left as God made it, to be developed according to His own plan. We mark this as 
another advantage of gymnastics : to correct and control the ruinous habit of fashion- 
able female dress. Indeed, every department of education is carried on through a sys- 
tem of practical gymnastics. We have mental gymnastics, moral gymnastics, and phys- 
ical gymnastics, which include vocal gymnastics. 

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EXERCISE A LAW OF EDUCATION. 

The law of development is through exercise. A "sound mind" is one whose facul- 
ties and powers have been called into harmonious action by patient and long continued 
study; a "sound body" has been developed by the exercise of every one of its four 
hundred and forty-six muscles ; and neither can be in sound condition while the other 
is diseased or uncultivated. 

THE LAW OF KINDNESS. 

6. Kindness is another powerful agency in the management of a school. — By this, as 
exemplified in the life of the true teacher, I mean his uniform good will, earnest sym- 
pathy, and hearty generosity, habitually exercised toward his pupils. There is no force 
on earth so potent as love.. When it has possession of the human heart it is all per- 
vading and overpowering, and especially if brought to bear upon sympathetic child- 
hood and youth. 

THE TEACHER MUST RULE BY KINDNESS. 

That teacher alone who loves his pupils has power to gain their love and confidence, 
which should be his chief reliance in school management. An affectionate pupil will 
confide in our judgment, respect our authority, and fear our displeasure. If we show 
him by our personal attention and kindness that we are his true friends and that all 
our efforts are designed to secure his best good, and make him believe it, we hold him 
as by the power of enchantment ; we have no further need of physical force as applied 
to him. He is held under another and higher law, which induces him to gratify our 
wishes and seek the best good of our school. We, as teachers, occupy for the time 
being the place of the parent, and we should, as far as possible, cherish the affection 
and manifest the interest and zeal of the true mother, who spends her life in loving 
and toiling for her children. But this kindness, which is an essential element in every 
true system of government, is not, and cannot be, a substitute for authority or an 
obstacle to severity, when the good of the individual or the school demands it. The 
teacher must cherish an abiding love for his pupils, and that love is nevermore truly 
exercised than in inflicting necessary pain in the management of public aftairs. Of 
the teacher's heart Shakspere could not say, "It is too full of the milk of human 
kindness," if only he has enough of authority, firmness, and executive will. Without 
these, even love, as an element of school discipline, is sometimes powerless. 

TEACHERS MUST HAVE POWER TO PUNISH. 

7. This brings me to consider the discipline of punishment . — I have spoken of the power 
of system, law, and kindness, in their silent but effective influence upon individuals 
and the school. I have spoken of the means and methods of preventing evil. 1 come 
now to the penalties to be inflicted when crime has been committed. Wholesome laws 
will be violated under every system of school management. The question to be 
settled is, should the government of the school be positive and efficient? If so, the 
master must have the right, disposition, and power to inflict punishment when neces- 
sary. If this right is denied or this power withheld, the government of the school is 
at the mercy of circumstances ; it cannot be sustained. In the dispensation of penal- 
ties, professional knowledge and wise discrimination are reqitisite. The circumstances 
connected with the offence must be carefully studied and a distinction always made 
between wilful and unintentional wrong. The isolated act of transgression does not 
indicate the degree of guilt incurred nor the kind of punishment to be inflicted; the 



presence or absence of palliating circumstances, the motives which generated the 
act, the present views and feeling of the offending pupil, must all he taken into the 
account. The master should never, therefore, threaten a specific punishment for 
anticipated offences. No two cases of transgression will be exactly alike, and hence the 
kind and degree of punishment should be varied as the case demands. But the good dis- 
ciplinarian seldom resorts to severe punishment in the government of his school ; yet 
he never relinquishes his right to punish as circumstances require. Nor does he 
regard severity, when necessary, as an evil to be deplored. It is indeed a sore evil that 
mortification has so endangered the life of the patient that the limb must be ampu- 
tated ; but it is not an evil that you have at hand surgical skill and suitable instru- 
ments to perform an operation. It is indeed a misfortune that any child or pupil has 
become so demoralized and reckless as to incur the penalties of the law ; but Solomon's 
rod, which has restored him to obedience and duty, is a blessing whose influence will 
be felt and acknowledged by the offender as long as he lives. 

PUNISHMENT NOT THE "EAST RESORT." 

Nor is severe punishment to be regarded as the "last resort." When it may be 
inflicted at all, it is the first resort, and the true remedy. Allow me to illustrate : A 
skilful physician is called to prescribe for a patient sick almost unto death. He sees, 
at a glance, that only one remedy will cure, and that must be administered promptly. 
Now the question is, shall that powerful medicine be given at once or as "the last 
resort," after every mild remedy has failed? If the doctor resorts to herb drinks and 
tonics in the case supposed, he is a quack, and his patient will die while the tender 
hearted simpleton is experimenting upon him. But the "calomel" is given and the 
patient recovers. So with punishment. It may be mild or severe; each kind is 
appropriate as a remedy for specific evils. But if the case is one that requires great 
severity, that kind of punishment must be inflicted promptly and faithfully. "Spare 
the rod and spoil the child," under such circumstances. Much has been said and 
written upon corporal jmnishinent and moral suasion, but their appropriate use in 
school discipline is seldom understood, as it seems to me. 

MORAL SUASION XOT THE REMEDY FOR REBELLION. 

Moral suasion is not the remedy for bold and defiant violations of law, if we mean 
by that term the persuading of the culprit to return to obedience or the purchase of 
his allegiance by a promised reward. Rebellion should be met by stunning, crushing 
blows, such as will vindicate and reestablish authority and deter others from commit- 
ting the same crime. Mildness is cruelty under such circumstances. All such cases 
■demand instant and determined action. The time for conciliation is after the rebels 
-are subjugated and the authority of the government is restored. But moral influence 
and kindness should attend every act of severity : never let the sun go down upon the 
wrath of a chastised pupil. See him alone, bring to bear upon him every moral power, 
treat him now with kindness and confidence, and thus restore him to duty and favor. 
Without the rod, moral suasion might have been powerless, or, if successful, what 
was gained by persuasion was lost to authority. It must never be. doubtful that the 
master has supreme control over his little kingdom. If his authority is trifled with it 
must be restored without delay, and any punishment is judicious that is necessary to 
this end. The system of government here recommended does not offer an angry word 
<or blow for every offence, real or fancied. The best masters who have adopted it 
punish the least. And when severe punishment becomes necessary, the pupil is made 
to believe that a sense of duty, and not passion, nerves the arm to strike the blow. 
He is made to understand that it is the master's duty to command and the pupil's 
duty to obey. Practically, the system of government based upon authority has alone 
been successful; every system that has abandoned the right or lost the power to pun- 
ish has proved a failure. 



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In punishing for falsehood, pilfering, profanity, and the like, it should be borne in 
mind that, while "the rod and reproof give wisdom," yet the moral treatment of such 
offences is always appropriate, either with or without severity, as the case may be. 
If the knowledge of an offence is confined to the offender and the teacher, it should be 
treated privately, for the good of the individual. But public crime must meet public 
punishment, that all similar cases may be reached and the school benefited. Let the 
folly, wickedness, and consequences of the crime be fully exposed and brought home 
to the conscience. And in the settlement of the question never fail to leave the 
way open for repentance and restitution. One example, to illustrate: 

ILLUSTRATION. 

A gold dollar had disappeared from the teacher's table while she stepped to a neigh- 
boring room. Two school girls, who were the only persons present, had disappeared. 
It was Saturday, and in the evening the young ladies were assembled in the public 
parlor for family worship. The principal, who was conducting the exercises, com- 
menced describing the effects and consequences of having, by accident, deposited a 
gold dollar upon the human lungs. It would corrode and poison, produce inflamma- 
tion, disease, and death, if it could not be removed. He then transferred the gold 
dollar from the lungs to the conscience, and portrayed the consequent guilt, remorse, 
anguish, and moral death resulting from such a crime, if not repented of. He pre- 
sumed the young lady would gladly restore the money and save herself from the dis- 
grace and suffering which must follow. He told her where she could leave the dollar, 
and that the fact of restoring it would be proof of her penitence and would save her 
from exposure. In her desperation, she had already thrown the gold dollar down the 
register ; but she did borrow the amount of her teacher, confidentially, to be paid from 
her spending money, and deposited it as suggested. And so the whole matter was 
settled and the most satisfactory results followed. The parents of the young lady 
never knew that anything of the kind had occurred. This case indicates the method 
I would adopt in dealing with school vices. 

STUDY A DISCIPLINE. 

8. The discipline of study may next be considered. — Study is mental gymnastics, system- 
atic thinking, and the end in view is development and culture. One great object of 
the school is to induce and direct this mental exercise. Study is of the first impor- 
tance, and hence must have the first attention of every practical teacher. In the 
organization, classification, management, and government of his school his chief aim is 
to secure systematic thinking. To this end he arranges certain hours of the day to be 
especially devoted to study. No unnecessary interruptions are allowed. In the selec- 
tion of studies and the arrangement of classes he has regard to the capacity and stand- 
ing of each pupil, so that he may work easily and successfully. He requires a regular 
hour to be devoted to each study and recitation, that order and system may every- 
where prevail. He enforces rigid discipline, that the school room may be quiet, and, 
mo6t important of all, he inspires his pupils with an enthusiasm that creates a love 
for the duties of the school and earnestness in study. He teaches his pupils how to 
study. He shows them that it is not the number of hours spent with books in hand, 
but close application, that secures thorough discipline and good lessons, and that self 
application is the only condition of sound learning. Hence he will not allow them to 
seek assistance from each other uor often from the teacher. And the wise teacher 
instructs his pupils to study thoughts and subjects, instead of words and books. Thus 
correct habits of study are formed and the foundation is laid for successful training at 
every future stage of education. 

Study is the exercise of acquiring and the only means of mental culture ; mind is 
•developed through its agency and power of self control and self direction gained. 



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RECITATIONS AND DISCIPLINE. 

9. The discipline of recitation comes next in order. — Recitation is the exercise of ex- 
pression, and, like study, belongs wholly to the scholar. Study and recitation are the 
principal means of gaining mental power and practical ability. Both are indispen- 
sable to the end in view, if not equally important. Eecitation has some incidental 
advantages of its own. 

RECITATION INDISPENSABLE. 

If properly conducted, it induces study. Few lessons would be learned in any school 
if no recitations were required, or if it was understood beforehand that the hour of 
recitation was to be occupied by the teacher in lecturing or asking questions. Again, 
recitation. gives distinctness and vividness to acquired knowledge. No lesson is fully 
learned until it is recited. It follows, therefore, that every pupil must recite at every 
recitation or suffer a loss. 

SMALL CLASSES DESIRABLE. 

Classes should never be so large as not to allow this thorough personal drill. That 
teacher who claims ability to educate classes numbering from fifty to seventy-five is 
either a novice or a quack. Such teaching is a fruitful source of indolence and super- 
ficial scholarship. Recitation in concert is equally objectionable. This may occasion- 
ally be profitable for recreation and improvement, when the whole school can engage 
in it ; but class recitation in concert", as a habit, creates disorder, prevents quiet study, 
destroys self reliance, affords a hiding place for the idle and reckless, and removes the 
strongest motive for self application. 

POWERS DEVELOPED BY RECITATION. 

But the relation of recitation to study is not its most important use. All that is 
practical in education, in every department of life, is developed by recitation. The 
power of action, no less than the power of expression, is gained by this alone. The 
child learns to walk and talk by walking and talking. The mechanic learns to use 
his tools by using them. He could never gain the power to build a house, construct 
an engine, or manufacture a watch by reading or hearing lectures upon the subject. 
In each department he learns his trade by reciting. The skilled musician has gained 
his wonderful ability to use the voice and the instrument by years of patient recita- 
tion. The statesman and orator whose eloquence moves the senate and attracts the 
attention of admiring nations has gained his power to influence by the practice of 
oratory. And so the art of easy, graceful, and intelligent conversation and elegant 
composition is acquired by conversing and writing. These examples drawn from 
the theatre of busy life serve to illustrate the relative importance of school recitation 
and indicate the manner in which it should be conducted. I come, then, to consider — 

10. The discipline of instruction. — I will here distinguish between instruction and 
recitation. The former is the business of the teacher ; the latter belongs exclusively 
to the scholar. The object of the one is to impart information, induce study, and 
awaken thought; the object of the other is to express the thoughts which the scholar 
has acquired by study, observation, and reflection. School instruction serves^ as has 
been suggested, to render acquired knowledge more definite and conceptions more 
vivid, and cultivates the power and habit of expression. And all these exercises — 
study, recitation, and instruction — have one common end to accomplish, viz, disci- 
pline. 

In speaking further of the discipline of instruction, I should consider the different 
methods which have been adopted. 

NATURAL METHOD OF TEACHING. 

Primary instruction will first occupy our attention. The untrammelled child in the 
nursery has a happy way of acquiring knowledge and discipline. His home, the little 



11 

world in which lie lives, is now his school. The domestic animals, his playmates, and 
his toys occupy his attention and awaken his interest. His mind is fnlly alive to every 
object his eyes behold. Observe, now, the natural process of learning, and from thi^ 
learn the natural method of instruction. First the object, then its name, and finally 
its nature and uses. The child never deals in abstractions, nor troubles himself about 
the unnecessary elements of which that object is composed. He cares nothing for the 
etymology of the name, nor the sounds which, combined, give it expression. He knows 
it at sight, and can speak it without hesitation. Its utility he now discovers, and 
values it only as he can turn it to some practical account. 

Now transfer this child to the schoolroom, and common sense teaches that the object 
and word method of instruction must be continued in distinction from the alphabetic 
The word method begins with the words found in the book, and the child learns to- 
read correctly and fluently a hundred pages in "Webb's First Reader" before he is 
expected to know the name or sound of a single letter. But something more is here 
contemplated than learning words — first, the picture and then the object, if it is at 
hand, and then the name, with its meaning and use. The thing before the sign is the 
rule in teaching by this method, even with familiar objects. Particles and connectives, 
and other words not represented by objects, should be learned with this meaning, so 
as to be recognized at sight. Words descriptive of color and actions should be illus- 
trated by examples. When spelling comes to be taught with reading, and the alpha- 
bet to be learned, it should be by the analysis of the words found in the reading lesson, 
instead of the old method of learning the A B C's and spelling columns of unmeaning 
words from the spelling book. By this method the child knows the word at sight. 
As he knows the object which it represents, he can speak it without hesitation or 
drawling ; he knows the meaning of every word in the lesson, and is able to read as 
he would talk ; he avoids the use and vexation of unmeaning symbols, which serve 
only to create disgust and contempt for both books and school. And as the child's 
education advances the same method of instruction should be carried into all depart- 
ments of study. Denning and explaining should, as far as possible, be done by the 
use of objects, and should be extensively practised in spelling and reading and in 
every other department of the school. 

METHOD OF TEACHING ENGLISH. 

The study of our own language by the use of the English dictionary should be en- 
couraged and required of all. In teaching spelling, punctuation, and the use of capi- 
tals, the attention of the scholar should be directed to the printed page. He will there 
see correct forms and usage, and thus acquire the habit of criticism and correctness 
in practice. Why these capitals are so used should be explained, and what variations 
of the voice the punctuation marks indicate should be illustrated by the teacher's 
voice. 

VALUE OF WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS. 

And while dealing with the thoughts of others, the scholar should be taught to 
express his own on slate or paper as soon as he is able to write. This department of 
composition, though the most neglected, is the most important of all. Hence, the 
teacher should give it special and frequent attention, at every stage of instruction, 
that his pupils may learn to express themselves in an easy and graceful manner. 

DANGER OF TEACHING BY QUESTIONS. 

The three methods of instruction now claim our attention. The more common is by 
questioning. Many teachers know of no other way, and some have so little knowledge 
of the subjects to be taught that they demand to have questions prepared for them- 
selves as well as for their pupils. And bookmakers, quick to observe the condition of 
the market, often line the margin of their books with leading questions to be used 
in study and recitation. Tbis is all wrong and one of the indications of the superfi- 



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ciality of the age. The tendency in all departments of learning is to skim the surface 
and to remove the necessity of thoroughness. Questioning is not the best method of 
instruction, nor can it be safely adopted as the only method. Yet the method has its 
place, and may be useful, first, to direct the attention of the pupil to special topics or 
thoughts which have been overlooked or omitted in the recitation ; secondly, it is use- 
ful in conducting reviews and examinations. 

HOW TO PUT QUESTIONS. 

But the teacher must exercise special care as to the manner of putting questions. 
1st. He should never ask leading questions, such as will suggest to the scholar the 
.answer. 2d. He should always put the question to the class before he calls up the 
individual, so as to secure the attention of all. And while he should have special 
regard to the matter, form, and mode of his question, he should also see that the answer 
is confined to the question, is concise and logical, and given in correct language. This 
habit of criticism will secure accuracy of thought and expression and impart positive 
knowledge. It is opposed to that loose and vague method of study and expression 
which results in mental anarchy and confusion. 

VALUE OF WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS. 

Written answers have the advantage over verbal that they bring the scholar under 
cigid examination in other departments of primary instruction. A written answe r 
exposes his penmanship, orthography, use of capitals, punctuation, and forms of ex. 
pression. Hence, this method of examination should be practised as often as time and 
circumstances will allow. 

THE USE OF LECTURES. 

Lecturing is another method of instruction which has its uses and abuses. A lecture 
by the teacher should never be substituted for a recitation by the class. These exer- 
cises are separate and distinct in their aims and results. Many teachers suppose that 
the measure of their ability as instructors is the power they have to explain and talk 
before the class, and hence they spend the most of the hour assigned to recitation in 
the display of their own gift of speech. But in the recitation room the good teacher 
has but little to say. His ability is tested by his silence more than by his loquacity ; 
by his power to rouse and direct the activity of his pupils more than by his own actions. 
But there are times and places for familiar and studied lectures, and the object to be 
gained is twofold, viz, to impart instruction and to give variety and fill up the vacant 
hour. And they should be employed to accomplish another object: to discipline the 
pupil in the habit of listening. He may acquire correct habits of study and accuracy 
.and fluency in recitation, and yet be a listless hearer. He must therefore be educated 
io listen, and this can be done in no way so well as by requiring the class to hear the 
lecture and to repeat in recitation in their own language what was communicated or 
explained. 

THE PURPOSE OF ALL EDUCATION. 

But, after all, independent topical recitation is the true method of instruction, when- 
ce ver the subject will admit of it. This will appear when we consider that the end of 
study, recitation, and instruction is not the attainment of knowledge, but discipline- 
The results of education are illustrated, not by the golden cup filled to the brim, but 
by the swelling bud developed into blossoms and ripe fruit through the genial influ- 
ence of light, heat, and moisture. Education, then,- is not the storing of knowledge, 
but the development of power ; and the law of development is through exercise. 

Study and recitation are the principal agencies to be employed in the process of 
training. Instruction is useful and important only so far as it secures, directs, and 
•controls earnest study and careful recitation. Any system of instruction, therefore, 
which weakens the motive or removes the necessity of laborious thinking and inde- 



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pendent expression is false in theory and ruinous in practice. Hence I condemn the 
" drawing out " and " pouring in " system, if either is the only or principal one adopted. 

HOW TO RECITE. 

As recitation is wholly the work of the scholar, he should recite independently, and,, 
as intimated, topically, when the subject will admit of it. Captions, definitions, tables, 
and fixed rules should be accurately recited in the words of the author, but every 
other kind of lesson should be expressed in the pupil's own language. In this way the 
mind becomes a depository of thoughts, instead of mere words and signs, and power is 
gained to express them accurately and logically. And the recitation should be made 
standing, that the pupil may be brought out prominently before the class and acquire 
the habit of thinking and speaking iu that exposed position. This will give him con- 
fidence and self control. But some thoughts cannot be expressed in words ; these 
must be drawn out iu figures, diagrams, and maps. Again, the skilful teacher will 
adapt his instruction to the capacity, attainments, and dispositions of his scholars. 
Some are bright and some are stupid ; some are timid and some are bold ; and some 
have enjoyed better advantages than others at home and abroad. Now, each of these 
classes require special training ; and that teacher alone is wise and can hope to be 
eminently successful who is able to adapt his treatment and instruction to the wants 
of all. Every mind must be tasked to be educated ; and hence each scholar should 
have just such lessons assigned him as he is able, by the greatest exertion, completely 
to master. The dull scholar should have few lessons at the same time ; the easy 
scholar more, each according to his ability to learn. Discipline is the end in view, and 
nothing can supply the place of it. Mere scholarship does not make the man ; genius, 
even, needs culture as well as stupidity. 

RECITATION MARKS NOT THE FINAL TEST OF ABILITY. 

The marking of class recitations does not determine the ability of the man in future 
life. The brilliant scholar, who has spent his time in comparative idleness and looked 
with contempt upon the laborious student who stumbles in recitation, has often been 
compelled to step aside and see his less scholarly but more industrious companion 
come up to occupy positions which he could not fill. College marks gave the boasting 
genius a scholarship and made him the valedictorian ; but the world has reversed the de- 
cision and awarded the merit and the honor to him who has forced his way to distinc- 
tion and usefulness by toil and sweat and tears. The college will never abandon its own 
marking as a standard of honorable position nor fail to withhold merited honors 
from those who were not found among its favored few in the days of Greek roots and 
Latin terminations. Still, success in life is the only standard of greatness and the only 
test of honorable distinction. The greatest man in any sphere of action is he who has 
accomplished the most. Good scholarship is desirable, but it sometimes happens 
that the brilliant scholar is sadly deficient in those manly qualities which are the only 
guarantee of success in life : common sense, untiring industry, energy, and persever- 
ance. No man has ever risen to distinction by uncultivated genius alone, but, if at all, 
through labor. Culture gives ability; and hence each mind must be tasked, that it 
may be cultivated. If the scholar has ability to master only one or two studies, while 
his classmate can accomplish twice as much in the same time, then the latter must 
have two or four studies, as the case may be. Compel each scholar to do all he is able 
to do, then each will be equally benefited by the discipline of school life. Treat the 
dull scholar with stimulants, the timid with encouragement, the self sufficient with 
hard questions and severity; task the apt scholar and give him but little assistance. 

REWARDS TO THOSE WHO EARN THEM. 

The tree of knowledge that grows in the educational garden is also a tree of disci- 
pline. Its stately and well-formed trunk, its symmetrical limbs, its flowing leaves, its 



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beautiful flowers, and its rich, fruit are charming to the eye and to the taste and form 
a refreshing shade for the many pilgrims of science. Gushing springs flow forth from 
its roots to quench their thirst, singing birds pour forth their richest music from its 
branches; but the ease and pleasure here to be enjoyed are for those only who come to 
toil and whose weariness is the fruit of the tree. The fruit of that tree is knowledge , 
but the labor of plucking that fruit gives discipline. It is presumed that the easy 
scholar can pluck the fruit unaided. If so, he needs no instruction — would be injured 
by having it. He may need direction and encouragement, but no help. Some can 
reach only the lower branches, and others, unaided, can pluck no fruit at all. Hence 
some need more help that others, but none should be helped while they have power 
to help themselves. This is the golden rule in teaching. The timid and the dull need 
encouragement and inspiration more than help. Give them these, and they will climb 
higher and still higher, but never help them while they have the power of climbing, 

GEXEKAL SUGGESTIONS. 

Some general suggestions upon the subject of instruction may here be made. Teach 
subjects, and not books; teach classes, and through the class drill the individual 
members; allow no interruptions while classes are reciting; aim to make the class 
recitation attractive and interesting; and, above all, inspire the pupils with earnest- 
ness and enthusiasm in the business of the school. To wake up mind is the instructor's 
first and most important work ; and if successful in this, he is at once master of the 
situation ; and to secure accuracy and thoroughness, frequent reviewsshould be required 
of all. Finally, let every department of instruction be made practical, so that the 
scholar will be qualified to enter at once upon the duties of practical life. 

POLITENESS A LOST ART. 

11. The discipline of good manners. — This subject, which our fathers seem to have 
regarded of great importance, has been fearfully neglected in these latter days. As a 
consequence, our children in the family and school practise only rudeness and insubor- 
dination. To such an extent has this department of education been neglected of late 
in our country that we have received merited reproach from other nations. We may 
here draw the contrast between the old and new civilization. The old was distin- 
guished by a proper regard for all the courtesies of refined life ; the new can boast of 
nothing but incivility. The rapid decline of good manners in our times appears most 
-evident when we compare the practice of our fathers with their degenerate grand- 
children. The old civilization recognized the "bow" and "courtesy" as tokens of 
respect. They have ever been so regarded, though sometimes used as mere signs of 
recognition. In the rural districts, the bow and courtesy have been regarded as evi- 
dence of good breeding and as the expression of proper reverence cherished by the 
young for their superiors. Alas! that the sign and the thing signified have nearly 
passed away ! The expressions of genuine politeness and deference which were met 
in every cultivated family and good school in the days of the distinguished Dr« 
Edwards have given place to habits of coarseness and incivility, and the sir and 
madam, which were always used by the children in the genteel family as a title of 
respect for parents, have, with the bow and courtesy, passed away. And where 
now do we find that gentleness, politeness, and ready obedience which characterized 
the children in their relations to those whom God had placed over them in their own 
homes ? In those days, under the direction of parental authority, children kept their 
places, regarded their instructors, and observed all the little acts of civility which 
throw a charm around the family circle. Not so now. Eudeness characterizes all 
their movements at home and in school. With their heads covered, they lounge about 
the house, intrude themselves into company, interrupt conversation, dispute with 
superiors, and make themselves disagreeable in every way. At school the bound and 
scream which follow the word of dismissal remind one of incipient savages ; and in 



15 

the streets the teacher may uot expect from schoolboys, as a rule, respectful attention 
and courteous behavior, but rather insulting words, and even snowballs or mudballs, 
if he chance to come in their way. 

MANNERS AND MORALS INSEPARABLE. 

Now, the manners of a people surely indicate their morals ; but human society itself 
exists only so long as the moral sense of the community is preserved. Of manners and 
morals it may, then, be affirmed that the one is but the complement of the other, and 
that they cannot be separated. Like the twin Siamese, their vital organs are con- 
nected ; their life blood flows from the same heart and through the same channels. 
Sever the artery that connects them, and you destroy the life of both. Morals divorced 
from manners become cold and repulsive ; but when united they .are attractive and 
pleasing. And how are we to gain what we have lost in this important department 
of education ? Lack of home culture and discipline is the principal cause of the evil 
we contemplate. Children left to their own ways grow up in the entire disregard of 
common courtesy. They neglect to show proper respect to parents and teachers, to 
seniors in age, and to superiors in station, wisdom, and virtue. And if the ordinary 
civilities of refined life are not regarded in the family and school and in the social 
intercourse of home society, how can we expect that politeness will be extended to 
-the stranger met in the marts of business or in the walks of pleasure ? In the present 
condition of society, much responsibility in regard to the needed reform rests upon the 
teachers of our public schools. And the only way to accomplish the desired object is 
by earnest self culture and faithful instruction on the part of the teachers of the 
nation and those who are candidates for that responsible office. 



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